Nexus

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, here's the next installment of Nexus. I know it's shorter than most, and it gets pretty cliché, but there had to be some clearing up. I wanted to make it longer, but I felt that it was fine where I stopped it. Now, enough of my babbling, enjoy the chapter, and don't forget to review!


Nexus
Chapter Two: Brother Anjor
Part Two


Edwyn found himself in a tunnel shrouded in mist. He wondered what this tunnel meant, what he would find further down the path. Only after reaching for the laser pistol at his side did he realize that he was unarmed. Cursing under his breath, he looked ahead to see nothing more than thick, gray fog.

“You need not fear,” a deep voice thundered gently about the tunnel.

He looked around for the source of the voice, shrugged, and straightened, advancing further down the path.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“The more fitting question is, who are you?”

He walked a little further, looking up at the stony ceiling over him.

“Me?” He stopped. “I’m Edwyn Valayan, formerly of Home Base on the planet Terra Sixteen.”

“You are Edwyn Valayan,” the voice repeated.

“Who are you, and what do you want with me?”

“You will know my identity and what I request of you in due time. I have come to you to warn you.”

Edwyn frowned. “Warn me of what?”

“The Avaani are in danger.”

“What? How?”

“By the same people that tried to kill you.”

Edwyn took a step back in surprise. “How did you know about those people that tried to kill me?”

“You will know in due time,” the voice replied again. “You must warn the Avaaniite Empress that her home and her people will be eradicated when the union between Anjor and Avaani has been sealed.”

“Eradicated?” Edwyn’s face drained of color as another realization hit him. “Wait a minute. Ariano is Anjor?”

The voice chuckled. “You are perceptive.” The voice turned serious as a lime green glow cut through the mist. “You must warn the Anjor and the Avaani quickly. If the union of Anjor and Avaani is sundered, the entire universe will tip towards ruin.”

“How can I possibly stop something like that?”

“You will know in due time,” the voice replied once more as a large midnight-blue dragon parted the mists before Edwyn. It leapt into the air and dove full-tilt towards him. “Sooner than you think!”


* * * * *


Edwyn woke with a start, bringing Karissa out of her sleep as well.

“What is it, Ed?”

Edwyn clutched his heart. “A…a dream.” He paused for a brief moment. “No…not a dream.”

Karissa clutched the sheets about her chest and sat up. “What is it? What happened?”

“Something’s going to happen when we get to Avaani,” Edwyn replied.

Karissa nodded. “Yes. Ariano and S’Jini are going to get married.” She frowned. “Though I don’t know how that’s going to work out.”

“Ariano is an Anjor,” Edwyn said, not even realizing the weight of his words.

She stared at him in disbelief. “What? How can you say such a thing?”

He threw the sheets off his hips and went for his clothes, dressing up quickly. “I’ll explain later, Rissa. I have to warn Ariano.”


* * * * *


Ariano was whistling to himself as he looked over the helm controls of his new scout ship, wondering what to christen his new toy.

“Hmm…S’Jini’s Baby sounds good,” he muttered to himself. He paused for a moment then chuckled and shook his head. “Nah, nah, it sounds too corny.”

“What about Crescendo?”

Ariano whirled around to see his brother enter the cockpit.

“Crescendo?” Ariano tilted his head in thought. “Hmm. It has a nice ring to it.”

“And the way things are going to go with this wedding, and with all the Melody I’ll probably find you smoking when you’re in here doing express deliveries, it’s a fitting name.”

Ariano pursed his lips and nodded. “Yeah. I like that. Thanks, Tavo.”

Tavo chuckled and slapped his brother on the back as he took the copilot’s seat. “No problem, Ano.” He looked at the panel in front of him. “You’re really going to go through with this wedding, aren’t you?”

Ariano nodded. “Before I found out you were alive, Tavo, I was a mercenary for hire. I’ve told you as much. My last job was one that I never finished.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was hired to assassinate S’Jini.”

Tavo widened his eyes and lowered his glasses. “You’re kidding.”

Ariano shook his head seriously. “Nope. I ended up giving back my pay to the one that hired me, I went to the Universal Council and had them take care of the guy that wanted S’Jini dead, and I turned myself in for conspiracy to commit murder.”

“Yeah. You told me the Council let you off.”

“Mm-hmm. I told them that I didn’t go through with the hit because I fell in love with S’Jini.”

“If you were a mercenary for hire, how were you able to fall in love with her through the lens of a sniper rifle scope?”

Edwyn burst into the room, panting. “He never saw her through a scope lens.”

Tavo glanced at his brother and back to Edwyn. “What are you talking about?”

Ariano looked at Edwyn and shook his head pleadingly.

“Tavo, your brother is Anjor.”


* * * * *


The Anjor are a hybrid between Humans and a nearly-extinct changeling race known as Torujor. They came to Earth under the guise of human beings, though it was apparent to all that they were aliens due to lack of understanding the English language. Using telepathy, the Anjor told the planet’s population of their plight, of how they were a peaceful but dying race, and that they sought a new home when their planet was swallowed up by the growth of their sun, a red giant. Eager to support the alien race, Humans welcomed the peaceful Anjor with open arms and integrated them into society. In return, the Torujor gave them highly advanced technology, enabling Earth to cure itself of many ailments, including all forms of cancer and HIV.

Throughout the course of Torujor habitation on Earth, Humans started to co-exist with the Torujor, and it was not long before there were Humans with Torujor mates, and Torujor with Human mates. Their offspring, a changeling with primarily Human features, were soon known as Anjor, using the last syllables of their parent races’ names.

It was not long before a great deal of people began to fear the Torujor, their offspring, either full Torujor or Anjor, and their changeling capabilities. Many people, mostly paranoid, high-ranking officials in powerful countries, began to speak ill of the Torujor, the Anjor, and their human supporters. It was not long before hatred of the Torujor and their supporters grew and subsequent discrimination of the aliens, the halflings and the Humans that trusted them quickly followed. Many Torujor supporters and families were more than content to forge their own societies away from xenophobic eyes, but there were those that wanted to fight back against the paranoid and fear-mongering, to show that life would be better supporting the aliens that gave them cures to worldwide diseases, that gave Humans the ability to live longer, happier lives.

The result was a nuclear war that grew to such a scale that half of each faction, pro-Anjor and anti-Anjor, decided to leave Earth in search of a home either away from persecution or away from the halflings. Unfortunately, the war had escalated to the point that the entire planet Earth was literally torn asunder. Both factions could only watch in horror as a bright light seared the eyes of any and all that watched, and when the light faded, there was nothing more of the planet they once called home.

After several months of traveling through hyperspace, the Torujor and the humans that supported them had managed to find a suitable planet to call their home. Naming it after the halfling race, Human, Anjor, and Torujor alike immediately set to work building a new life and a new structure to their once-shattered society. After a century of exploring the space around their new home planet and encountering many other alien species, some friendly and others hostile, those that shared their beliefs with the Humans, the Torujor, and the Anjor built a new government: The Universal Council, the galaxy’s ruling body.

It was not long before the anti-Anjor faction, later dubbed the Puritans by many in the Universal Council, was discovered. They forced themselves into the Universal Council, appealing to the fact that they were Human, and deserved to join the Human element of the Council. Their discrimination began once more, and their nearsightedness and xenophobia was almost enough to tear the Council apart. Afraid of destroying what they worked so hard to build, the three leading races of the Universal Council did the only thing they could do: the Humans were forced to split into the Puritans and the Supporters, the Torujor, their numbers diminished greatly after the nuclear war that destroyed Earth, were forced to represent themselves in the Council, becoming nothing more than a minor voice in the Council, and the Anjor were forced to hide themselves, let it be Human, Torujor, or other alien races to stay away from Puritan eyes. Supporters and Torujor alike knew the names and lives of Anjor, and their existence as Anjor were only kept under Classified Orders from the Universal Council and by the families that loved them…


* * * * *


“I never knew that Mom was a Supporter,” Tavo said, burying his face in his hands.

“I didn’t know where your allegiance sat, Tavo,” Ariano explained, on the verge of crying. “Mom never told me about you before she died because she thought you were inching towards Puritan.”

Tavo shook his head. “I didn’t know where I stood. I never had to think about it.”

Ariano looked over to Edwyn with a mix of anger and relief. Edwyn simply nodded and left the cockpit of the scout ship.

“Well, little brother, you have to think about it now. Obviously, I’m a Supporter. I’m Anjor, and I’m in love with an Avaaniite. I’m pretty sure you know now how that’ll work out.”

Tavo chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess.” He smiled at his brother. “I may not be Anjor, but you’re still my blood. When the time comes, I’ll stick things out with you.”

Ariano’s face brightened as he stood up and took his brother in a hug.

“I’m sorry, Tavo,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way. I wanted to tell you at the wedding.”

“It’s no problem, Ano,” he said.

Ariano held his brother at arms’ length as his skin color shifted from deep chocolate to a silvery blue. “I’m sorry about hiding my secret from you. I didn’t want to be a burden on you.”

Tavo smiled. “You ain’t heavy.” He took his Anjor brother in a hug. “You’re my brother.”


=[ End of Chapter Two: Brother Anjor ]=


A/N: I know it was a cheesy ending to a chapter, but I'm a sucker for cheese and cliché. I felt that if I added more, it would diminish the chapter.

Suzie a.k.a. born_to_do_it: I'll have a list posted on the characters on the story as soon as possible. To clarify things for you for now, Edwyn, Karissa and Tavo are twenty-two, and Ariano is twenty-four. S'Jini is six, twenty-four years old in Human years and therefore legal age. You'll find out more about her soon enough.

Anyway, I'll bid you all adieu, and hope to hear from me again soon!